Good looking 'zas for the first shot on the Egg. I, too, had trouble finding the right balance of 'done to perfection' between the crust and toppings. It's a matter of experimentation, and I'll describe the setup and method I now use.

I normally cook pizza at a dome temp of 550°, and only after the Egg has had a good 45 minutes to equilibrate temperature. I use the feet that come with the Egg to raise the pizza stone off the plate setter, so there is an air gap between the two. That prevents the plate setter, which receives radiant energy directly from the fire and can become very hot, from transmitting it's heat to the stone. Just before I put on my pizza I wipe the stone with a damp cloth, cooling the surface and buying just a little time for the toppings to cook. This has worked well for me for about the last four years.

We bought an Egg six years ago following a trip to Italy where we were knocked out by the flavor of pizzas and breads cooked in wood fired ovens. I'm happy with our pizzas now. I need to put more attention toward our breads.

Thaiobsessed mentioned above that she wanted a wood fired oven for her pizzas. A ceramic cooker as a mulit-tasker might fulfill that role for her.

There are a dozen ways to cook pizza on the Egg. I just thought I would share with you the set up that has been successful for me. I hope this helps. Good luck!

DRC1379 wrote:I use the feet that come with the Egg to raise the pizza stone off the plate setter, so there is an air gap between the two. That prevents the plate setter, which receives radiant energy directly from the fire and can become very hot, from transmitting it's heat to the stone. Just before I put on my pizza I wipe the stone with a damp cloth, cooling the surface and buying just a little time for the toppings to cook. This has worked well for me for about the last four years.

I did not get the BGE feet, but do have a few ceramic briquettes which I will use.

Dessert pizzaFig, apricot, plum macerated with red wine with a dash of kosher salt. Ricotta mixed with honey and kosher salt. Dotted with additional honey sweetened ricotta/fruit and mint when it came off BGE

Tasted better than it looks

*I love Fresh Farms, but the nova lox, while inexpensive, is strong, salty and very fishy. Not recommended for smoked salmon appetizer pizza

Made a couple of pizzas this evening, first was fine, crust, which I let develop in the frig, finally starting to get a bit of flavor. Second I learned a valuable, if obvious, lesson.

Pizza 1, mozzarella, olive, red onion, pepperoni, garlic

Pizza 2, mozzarella, olive, red onion, pepperoni, garlic, sausage

Stupidly tossed the olive oil impregnated paper towel I was using to oil the crust into the fire and closed the lid. Immediately flared and threw up a haze of greasy, oily smoke. Took me a minute to notice, I was turned away from the cooker, enough time to ruin the pizza, in particular the outer crust.

Bill/SFNM wrote:So when are you going to attempt a Thai-inspired pizza.

I thought about a Saag Paneer pizza with leftovers (but my Saag paneer didn't turn out that well). The Bread Bar at Tabla in NY used to have a delicious Saag Paneer pizza with a cornmeal crust. As for Thai--I've been thinking a lot about that one. Maybe a Miang Kam pizza or panang curry shrimp. Stay tuned.

Here are some recent Margarita-ish pizzas (both with goat cheese, the first with sauteed cherry tomatoes, the second with sausage)

Thanks, it's fun and enlightening to work through the pizza process. I've heard before its all about the bread (dough) and the more I work through it more I appreciate that sentiment.

Enjoy,Gary

In addition to being fun, enlightening, and often delicious - one of the things I like most about projects like this is that they give you even greater appreciation for chefs/ cooks that manage to serve wonderful pizza (or gnocchi, puff pastry, burgers and ice cream in the case of similar "projects" I've taken on) nearly every time. The downside - at least for me - is that it sometimes makes it harder to enjoy the good but flawed versions when I eat out.

...defended from strong temptations to social ambition by a still stronger taste for tripe and onions." Screwtape in The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis

Third post to this thread, probably eighth pizza-making session this summer. I'm getting much better. I'm using about 30% whole wheat flour in the dough these days. It's giving me a density and a flavor depth that both Jill and I enjoy.

Roasted eggplant with tomato sauce and pecorino cheese

Cherry tomato with bacon and roasted garlicThis one was very interesting. I par-cooked the bacon in a skillet and then gave the tomatoes about 30 seconds in the bacon fat. The garlic was roasted in the oven and spread thinly over the dough.

eatchicago wrote:This one was very interesting. I par-cooked the bacon in a skillet and then gave the tomatoes about 30 seconds in the bacon fat. The garlic was roasted in the oven and spread thinly over the dough.

I put a bit of cornmeal in the dough just to 'see' no change in flavor/texture though I was spare with the amount. Next time out I may try more cornmeal or, possibly, whole wheat for one fourth of the all purpose flour.

I put a bit of cornmeal in the dough just to 'see' no change in flavor/texture though I was spare with the amount. Next time out I may try more cornmeal or, possibly, whole wheat for one fourth of the all purpose flour.

Enjoy,Gary

Looks great Gary. I was just thinking that I really should take you up on your offer to make a pizza lunch for Pizza Boy. Let's try to set something up for next week. Even if he doesn't enjoy it, I know I will.

Btw, I've had good success in obtaining extra crispiness/crunchiness by subbing in about 5% semolina flour for the primary flour in the recipe. For my personal taste, this has worked out quite well.

=R=

Gardening is a bloodsport --Meghan Kleeman

Why don't you take these profiteroles and put them up your shi'-ta-holes? --Jemaine & Bret

ronnie_suburban wrote:Looks great Gary. I was just thinking that I really should take you up on your offer to make a pizza lunch for Pizza Boy. Let's try to set something up for next week. Even if he doesn't enjoy it, I know I will.